Contracting Authority Local Authorities Actions in partner country ...eeas.europa.eu/.../documents/funding_opportunities/133762_laid_en.… · country-specific funding envelope of

GHANA – “Local Authorities in development - Ghana” – AAP 2012-13 Page 1 of 21 EUROPEAID/133-762/L/ACT/GH

Contracting Authority :

The European Union, represented by the European Commission

Local Authorities in Development

Actions in partner country

GHANA

GUIDELINES FOR APPLICANTS

Budget line 21.03.02

Reference: EUROPEAID/133-762/L/ACT/GH

Deadline for submission of proposals: 26th April 2013


NOTICE

This is an open Call for Proposals, where all documents are submitted at one stage (Concept Note and Full Application Form). However, in the first instance, only the Concept Notes will be evaluated. Thereafter, for the applicants whose Concept Notes have been pre-selected, evaluation of the Full Application Form will be carried out. Further to the evaluation of the Full Application Form, an eligibility check will be performed for those which are provisionally selected. This check will be undertaken on the basis of the supporting documents requested by the Contracting Authority and the signed "Declaration by the Applicant" sent together with the application.


Table of contents

1. "LOCAL AUTHORITIES IN DEVELOPMENT" - ACTIONS IN PARTNER COUNTRIES - GHANA

1.1 Background...........................................................................................................................................4

1.2 Objectives of the programme and priority issues................................................................................. 5

1.3 Financial allocation provided by the contracting authority .................................................................. 5

2. RULES FOR THIS CALL FOR PROPOSALS 7

2.1 Eligibility criteria.................................................................................................................................. 7

2.1.1 Eligibility of applicants: who may apply? .................................................................................... 7 2.1.2 Partnerships and eligibility of partners ......................................................................................... 8 2.1.3 Eligible actions: actions for which an application may be made .................................................. 9 2.1.4 Eligibility of costs: costs which may be taken into consideration for the grant.......................... 11

2.2 How to apply and the procedures to follow........................................................................................ 12

2.2.1 Application form......................................................................................................................... 13 2.2.2 Where and how to send the Applications.................................................................................... 13 2.2.3 Deadline for submission of Applications.................................................................................... 14 2.2.4 Further information for the Application...................................................................................... 14

2.3 Evaluation and selection of applications ............................................................................................ 15

2.4 Submission of supporting documents for provisionally selected applications ................................... 18

2.5 Notification of the Contracting Authority’s decision ......................................................................... 19

2.5.1 Content of the decision................................................................................................................. 19 2.5.2 Indicative time table ..................................................................................................................... 19

2.6 Conditions applicable to implementation of the action following the Contracting Authority's decision to award a grant .................................................................................................................................. 20

2.7 Early warning system and central exclusion database.................................................................. 20

3. LIST OF ANNEXES 21


1. “LOCAL AUTHORITIES IN DEVELOPMENT” - ACTIONS IN PARTNER COUNTRIES - GHANA

1.1 BACKGROUND In the last 20 years, decentralisation has increased in importance in development cooperation. It has been promoted in order to seek to improve the delivery of public goods and services as well as to increase local participation in policy-making processes. Decentralisation is a process which involves the transfer of a range of powers (decision making, revenue-raising, etc), responsibilities (service delivery) and resources (financial, human, and administrative) from higher levels in political systems (central governments) to authorities at lower level.

While central governments have the role of setting national development frameworks, Local Authorities1 have to increase their capacities and assume responsibilities to foster development and contribute to the achievement of MDGs at the local level. As Local Authorities are closer to citizens than other public institutions, they may significantly contribute in terms of more efficient, equitable and accountable delivery of basic public services (education, health, water, transport, etc.), building democratic institutions and effective administrations.

As stated in its Communication “Local Authorities: Actors for Development”2, the European Commission recognises the significant role of Local Authorities in the development process, not only in their capacity of service providers but also as catalysts for change, conflict prevention, decentralisation and confidence-building.

Against this background, the European Union (EU) Delegation to Ghana is launching this Call for Proposals under the Thematic Programme “Non-State Actors and Local Authorities in Development” in order to

support actions, proposed and implemented by Local Authorities at Regional Level in Ghana3 with a country-specific funding envelope of EUR 2,250,000 (EUR two millions and two hundred fifty).

The thematic programme Non-State Actors and Local Authorities in Development (NSA/LA in Development) is a development policy instrument of the European Consensus on Development reflecting the European Union's (EU) commitment to fighting poverty and promoting the rule of law and adherence to

fundamental freedoms set out in Article 177 (former Article 130u) of the Lisbon Treaty4. The NSA/LA in Development Programme is an "actor oriented" programme aimed at co-financing "own" initiatives proposed and carried out by civil society organisations and local authorities originating from the EU and partner countries in the area of development at the local level.

The targeted support to the Local Authorities at Regional Level was the outcome of consultations and

exchanges with counterparts from Government and development partners5 and it was based on the fact that

1 In the Communication mentioned above and in a more recent “Issue Paper on Local Authorities” the term “Local Authority” is used in its widest as directly or indirectly elected public governing bodies at sub-national level possessing within a given territory, as defined by law, a degree of autonomy from the central government and a set of competences to deliver public goods and services to citizens. They encompass a large variety of public governing bodies at various levels i.e. municipalities, communities, districts, counties, provinces, regions etc 2 Reference COM(2008) 626 final, 8.10.2008, available at http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=COM:2008:0626:FIN:EN:PDF 3 The basis for Ghana’s Decentralisation and Local Government reform derives from Chapter 20 of the 1992 Constitution. Article 240 provides that, “Ghana shall have a system of Local Government and administration, which shall as far as practicable, be decentralised”. The Constitutional Provision is supported by other enactments including the Local Government Act, 1993 (Act 462) which establishes the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs), the Regional Coordinating Councils and their technical arms - the Regional Planning Coordinating Units (RPCUs).

4 Regulation (EC) n° 1905/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 378, 27 December 2006), establishing a financing instrument for development cooperation (DCI), and more specifically its article 14, constitutes the legal basis for this Thematic Programme.

5 Discussions were held during the “Decentralisation Sector Working (DSW) groups”. Active members of the DSW Group include: Ministry of Local Government, Local Government Service, Inter Ministerial Coordinating Committee for the Decentralisation reform, Institute for Government Studies, Fiscal Decentralisation Unit of Ministry of Finance, Development Partners working on decentralisation, etc.)


presently the Regions in Ghana are facing challenges in carrying out their duties as established by law due to

the lack of technical and financial support6.

The 1993 Local Government Act of 462 establishes Regional Coordinating Councils (RCCs) in 10 administrative regions as entities with delegated authority to coordinate and harmonize district-level development interventions. In so doing, they monitor, coordinate, and evaluate the performance of the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) and report to the center. The RCCs are chaired by a Regional Minister (a presidential appointee), and led administratively by Regional Coordinating Directors (RCDs) and Regional Planning Coordinating Units (RPCUs).

Regional Planning Coordinating Units main responsibility is to advise RCCs on coordination, monitoring and evaluation of district development plans and matters relating to planning in the region. The Local Government Act of 462 establishes RPCUs to be a secretariat for RCCs. The members of the RPCUs are regional budget officer, regional local government inspector, heads of the MMDAs, representatives of the Regional Administration and RPCU planning officers. RCCs also bring together other key actors in Ghana’s decentralization matrix: chief executives of the MMDAs; representatives of traditional authorities (from the Regional House of Chiefs); and the regional heads of various deconcentrated line ministries. This mix of devolved, deconcentrated, and delegated authorities has made aligning RCCs into the decentralization process complex.

The present Call for Proposals complements ongoing Sector Budget Support (SBS) to the overall decentralisation reform process with the objective to increase the performance and quality of service delivery at local level, with a particular focus on the effective provision of basic services for the already decentralized functions, like water and sanitation as well as feeder road infrastructure. The Regional Level in its role of coordination, monitoring, and evaluation of the performance of the MMDAs can be instrumental to gather the information on the impact of SBS on the performance and quality of service delivery at local level.

1.2 OBJECTIVES OF THE CALL FOR PROPOSALS AND PRIORITY ISSUES The global objective of this Call for Proposals is to “Enhance the harmonisation and monitoring of public policies at local level in Ghana and to improve the availability, access and quality of public services to citizens for better living conditions within their communities.

The specific objective of this Call for Proposals is to “Strengthen institutional capacities and internal structure of Regional Authorities in Ghana for carrying out efficiently and effectively their general and planning functions as established by the law”.

All actions must be based on an initiative of the Regional Authorities in Ghana and should ensure their involvement during all stages of the implementation of the action.

1.3 FINANCIAL ALLOCATION PROVIDED BY THE CONTRACTING AUTHORITY The overall indicative amount made available under this call for proposals is EUR 2,250,000, which consists of the amount available under Budget Year 2012 of 1,000,000 EUR and the indicative envelope to be allocated under Budget Year 2013 of 1,250,000 EUR.

The granting of the above amounts is subject to the decision of the Budgetary Authority and the approval of the 2013 Annual Action Plan for the Thematic Programme on “Non-State actors and Local Authorities in Development”.

The European Commission reserves the right not to award all available funds. Similarly, this amount could be increased should more funds become available.

Size of grants

Any grant awarded under this Call for Proposals must fall between the following minimum and maximum amounts:

6 A study was commissioned by GIZ (German Cooperation) and finalised in November 2011 on the “Assessment of the Operations of the Regional Planning Coordinating Units (RPCUs) in Ghana”.


• minimum amount: EUR 150,000 • maximum amount: EUR 400,000

Any grant requested under this Call for Proposals must fall between the following minimum and maximum percentages of total eligible costs of the action:

• Minimum percentage: 60 % of the total eligible costs of the action.

• Maximum percentage 90 % of the total eligible costs of the action (see also Section 2.1.4).

The balance (i.e. the difference between the total cost of the action and the amount requested from the Contracting Authority) must be financed from the applicant's or partners' own resources, or from sources

other than the European Union budget or the European Development Fund7.

2. Rules for this call for proposals

These guidelines set out the rules for the submission, selection and implementation of actions financed under this Call, in conformity with the provisions of the Practical Guide to contract procedures for EU external actions, which is applicable to the present call (available on the Internet at this address: http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/work/procedures/implementation/index_en.htm).

2.1 ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

There are three sets of eligibility criteria, relating to:

• The applicant, the entity submitting the application form, if any, its co-applicant(s) (where it is not

specified otherwise the applicant and the co-applicant(s) are hereinafter jointly referred as the "applicants") (2.1.1), and, if any, their affiliated entity(ies) (2.1.3);

• projects for which a grant may be awarded (2.1.3);

• types of cost that may be taken into account in setting the amount of the grant (2.1.4).

2.1.1 Eligibility of applicants: (i.e. applicant and co-applicant(s))

Applicant

(1) In order to be eligible for a grant, the applicant must:

• be legal persons and

• be Local Authorities at Regional Level established in Ghana (Regional Coordinating Councils)8 and

• be directly responsible for the preparation and management of the action with the co-applicant(s) and affiliated entity(ies), not acting as an intermediary

(2) The potential applicants may not participate in calls for proposals or be awarded grants if they are in any of the situations which are listed in Section 2.3.3 of the Practical Guide to contract procedures for EU external actions (available from the following Internet address: http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/work/procedures/implementation/index_en.htm);

In Part B section 7 of the grant application form (“Declaration by the applicant”), the applicant must declare that the applicant himself, the co-applicant(s) and affiliated entity(ies) are not in any of these situations.

The applicant may act individually or with co-applicant (s).

7 Where a grant is financed by the European Development Fund, any mention of European Union financing must be understood as referring to European Development Fund financing. 8 They must be officially recognized as such, according to the legislation in force in Ghana.


Co-applicant(s) participate in designing and implementing the action, and the costs they incur are eligible in the same way as those incurred by the applicant. Co-applicant(s) must satisfy the eligibility criteria as applicable to the applicant himself.

In addition to the categories referred to in section 2.1.1, the following are however also eligible as co-applicants:

• be Local Authorities at Regional Level established in a Member State of the European Union or

• be specific types of organisations such as: non-governmental organisations, public sector operators, local authorities, international (inter-governmental) organisations as defined by Article 43 of the

Implementing Rules to the EC Financial Regulation9 and

• be non profit making and

• be established in Ghana or in a Member State of the European Union (including a Member State of the European Economic Area and accession or official candidate countries as recognised by the European

Union)10. This obligation does not apply to international organisations and

• be directly responsible for the preparation and management of the action with their partners, not acting as an intermediary and

• be able to demonstrate previous experience of managing activities in the field of development of the kind covered by this programme (please indicate this experience in part B, Section I, chapter 4 of the Grant Application Form: experience of similar actions). Partners from a Member State of the European Union must have carried out such activities at least during the last two (2) years at the time of the submission of an application.

If awarded the Grant contract, the applicant and (if any) the co-applicants will become the Beneficiaries in the Action. In particular, the applicant will become the Beneficiary identified as the Coordinator in annex E3h1 (Special conditions). The Coordinator is the main interlocutor of the Contracting Authority. It represents and acts on behalf of any other Beneficiary (if any) and coordinate the design and implementation of the Action.

2.1.2 Associates and Contractors

The following are not co-applicant(s) nor affiliated entity(ies) and do not have to sign the "mandate" or "affiliated entities' statement":

• Associates

Other organisations may be involved in the action. Such associates play a real role in the action but may not receive funding from the grant with the exception of per diem or travel costs. Associates do not have to meet the eligibility criteria referred to in section 2.1.1. The associates have to be mentioned in Part B section 5 - “Associates of the Applicant participating in the Action” of the Grant Application Form.

9 International organisations are international public-sector organisations set up by intergovernmental agreements as well as specialised agencies set up by them; the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the International Federation of National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, European Investment Bank (EIB) and European Investment Fund (EIF) are also recognized as international organisations.

10 To be determined on the basis of the organisation's statutes which should demonstrate that it has been established by an instrument governed by the national law of the country concerned. In this respect, any legal entity whose statutes have been established in another country cannot be considered an eligible local organisation, even if the statutes are registered locally or a “Memorandum of Understanding” has been concluded.


• Contractors

The grant beneficiaries have the possibility to award contracts. Associates or affiliated entity (ies) cannot be also contractors in the project. Contractors are subject to the procurement rules set out in Annex IV to the standard grant contract.

• Sub-grantees

The grant beneficiary may award financial support (sub-grants) to third entities (sub-grantees). Sub-grantees are neither affiliated entity(ies) nor associates nor contractors. Sub-grantees are subject to the nationality and origin rules set out in Annex IV to the standard grant contracts.

2.1.3 Affiliated entities

The applicant and its co-applicant(s) may act with affiliated entity (ies). The following entities may be considered as affiliated entities to the applicant or to the co-applicant(s):

(i) legal entities together forming one legal entity, including where it is specifically established for the purpose of implementing the action. In this case, the resulting legal entity may apply as a single applicant or co-applicant.

(ii) legal entities having a link with the applicant, notably a legal or capital link, which is neither limited to

the action nor established for the sole purpose of its implementation on the condition that they satisfy the eligibility and non-exclusion criteria of an applicant.

Affiliated entity(ies) to the applicant and of the co-applicant(s) participate in designing and implementing the action. The costs incurred by affiliated entity(ies) are eligible in the same way as those incurred by the applicant and by the co-applicant(s) respectively. If awarded the Grant contract, affiliated entity(ies) (if any) will not become the Beneficiaries in the Action Affiliated entity(ies) must satisfy respectively the eligibility criteria as applicable to the applicant and to the co-applicant(s).

2.1.4 Eligible actions: actions for which an application may be made Definition An action (or project) is composed of a set of activities. Duration The initial planned duration of the action may not be lower than 30 months nor exceed 48 months. Location

Actions must take place in Ghana.

Objectives and priorities See section 1.2. Themes

In relation to the objectives outlined in section 1.2, the following two (2) themes have been identified:


≡ Strengthen the Regional Decentralized Level in its role of coordination, monitoring, harmonization of district-level plans / programmes / development interventions and evaluation of performance of the metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies

≡ Fostered actions related to decentralisation reform in Ghana where related legal framework and process are already in place, particularly at regional level

Types of action

Priority will be given to actions that will contribute to the achievement of the following results:

� Increased capacity of Regional Coordinating Councils and their Regional Planning Coordinating Units in carrying out efficiently and effectively their general and planning functions

as established by the law11

� Increased cooperation and coordination among Regional Authorities (North-South or South-South) through decentralised cooperation in those sectors that traditionally fall within statutory responsibilities, competences and expertises of Regional Authorities

All actions should include an element of capacity building in a way to guarantee principles of empowerment of local governments, participation to the public goods and accountability.

In all actions the execution of operations must remain under the responsibility and supervision of the Regional Local Authorities in coherence with relevant sectoral policies. Mechanisms must be put in place to ensure sustainability of the actions at the end of the EU co-funding.

In line with Paris Declaration for aid effectiveness and the Accra Agenda for Action, subsidiarity and complementarity with other interventions (supported by the European Union, other organisations,

Development Partners12 or by Government of Ghana) should be ensured. Overlaps and duplications of efforts or lack of coordination and harmonisation with other ongoing projects or initiatives targeting Regional Authorities will be negatively considered in the evaluation process outlined in the section 2.3 of the present guidelines.

Types of activity Activities can include (non exhaustive list of examples):

≡ technical and logistical support for monitoring, co-ordination and evaluation of the performance of the District Assemblies in the region;

≡ Monitoring of the use of financial resources allocated to the District Assemblies;

≡ Reviews and coordination of public services generally in the Region.

≡ back-stopping support for the performance of functions assigned to the District Assemblies in the region, e.g. implementation of composite budgets and IGF enhancement

≡ data collection / assessments / data gathering for assisting the District Planning Authority in the formulation, implementation and monitoring of district development plans and associated composite budgets;

≡ coordination of plans and programmes of the District Planning Authorities and their harmonization with national development policies and priorities;

≡ monitoring and evaluation the implementation of the programmes and projects of the District

Planning Authorities within the region based on existing tools/mechanisms13

11 A “Consolidated Local Government Bill” is under preparation which specifies the role and functions of the RCCs and RCPUs.

See also Annex G – Structure of Government in Ghana 12 The German Cooperation through GIZ has an ongoing programme that provides technical support through the placement of

Development Advisors at the RPCU level in order to support their capacity in M&E and technical backstopping to the MMDAs. Other Development Partners may support the regional level in the future. Coordination with them will be ensured.

13 Example: technology based tools such as the Project Monitoring Database and an IT-based M&E framework supported under GIZ programme)


≡ technical and logistical support to the RPCUs for their day-to-day operations

working sessions, seminars, workshops, peer exchange and learning, study tours, training courses and field trips (strictly linked to the objectives of the call and within the core mandate of the regions) Redistribution of the grant To help achieve the objectives of the action, especially where the action proposed by the applicants requires financial support to be given to third parties, the applicants may propose awarding sub-grants. In the case of applicants anticipating a redistribution of the grant, they must specify in their applications the objectives and results to be obtained and the types of entity that will be eligible for a sub-grant. A fixed list of the types of activity eligible for sub-grants must be included in the application, together with the criteria for selecting sub-grantees including the criteria for determining the exact amount of each sub-grant. The maximum amount of a sub-grant is € 60 000 per third party, except where a redistribution of the grant is the main purpose of the action.

Visibility

Note that the applicant must comply with the objectives and priorities and guarantee the visibility of the EU-financing (see the Communication and Visibility Manual for EU external actions laid down and published by the European Commission at (see http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/work/visibility/index_en.htm).

Types of action are ineligible:

≡ actions concerned only or mainly with individual sponsorships for participation in workshops, seminars, conferences, congresses;

≡ actions concerned only or mainly with individual scholarships for studies or training courses;

≡ one-off conferences: conferences can only be funded if they form part of a wider range of activities to be implemented in the life-time of the action. For these purposes, preparatory activities for a conference and the publication of the proceedings of the conference do not, in themselves, constitute such “wider activities”;

≡ actions in the formal education sector (apart from primary and vocational education), except in special circumstances;

≡ actions which consist exclusively or primarily in capital expenditure, e.g. land, buildings, equipment and vehicles, except in special circumstances;

≡ actions supporting political parties;

≡ actions which include proselytism;

≡ actions which discriminate against individuals or groups of people on grounds of their gender, sexual orientation, religious beliefs or lack of them, or their ethnic origin

Number of applications and grants per applicant

� The applicant may submit more than one application under this Call for Proposals. � The applicant may not be awarded more than one grant under this Call for Proposals. � The applicant may be a co-applicant or an afflilated entity in another application at the same time. � A co-applicant may submit more than one application under this Call for Proposals. � A co-applicant may not be awarded more than one grant under this Call for Proposals. � A co-applicant may be an affiliated entity in another application at the same time. � The affiliated entity(ies) may take part in more than one application.


2.1.5 Eligibility of costs: costs that can be included

Only "eligible costs" can be covered by a grant. The categories of costs considered as eligible and non-eligible are indicated below. The budget is both a cost estimate and a ceiling for "eligible costs". The reimbursement of eligible costs may be based on any or a combination of the following forms:

− actual costs incurred by the Beneficiary(ies) and affiliated entity(ies)

− one or more simplified cost options.

Simplified cost options may take the form of: − unit costs: covering all or certain specific categories of eligible costs which are clearly identified in

advance by reference to an amount per unit.

− lump sums: covering in global terms all or certain specific categories of eligible costs which are clearly identified in advance.

− flat-rate financing: covering specific categories of eligible costs which are clearly identified in advance by applying a percentage fixed ex ante.

The amounts or rates have to be based on estimates using objective data such as statistical data or any other objective means or with reference to certified or auditable historical data of the applicants or the affiliated entity(ies). The methods used to determine the amounts or rates of unit costs, lump sums or flat-rates must comply with the criteria established in Annex K, and especially ensure that the costs correspond fairly to the actual costs incurred by the Grant Beneficiary(ies) and affiliated entity(ies), are in line with their accounting practices, no profit is made and the costs are not already covered by other sources of funding (no double funding). Refer to Annex K for directions and a checklist of controls to assess the minimum necessary conditions that provide reasonable assurance for the acceptance of the proposed amounts. The applicant proposing this form of reimbursement, must clearly indicate in worksheet no.1 of Annex B, each heading/item of eligible costs concerned by this type of financing, i.e. add the reference in capital letters to "UNIT RATE" (per month/flight etc), "LUMPSUM" or "FLAT RATE" in the Unit column. (see example in Annex K) Additionally in Annex B, in the second column of worksheet no.2, "Justification of the estimated costs" per each of the corresponding budget item or heading the applicant must:

− describe the information and methods used to establish the amounts of unit costs, lump sums and/or flat-rates, to which costs they refer, etc.

− clearly explain the formulas for calculation of the final eligible amount14

− identify the beneficiary who will use the simplified cost option (in case of affiliated entity, specify first the beneficiary), in order to verify the maximum amount per each beneficiary (which includes if applicable simplified cost options of its affiliated entity(ies))

At contracting phase, the Contracting Authority decides whether to accept the proposed amounts or rates on the basis of the provisional budget submitted by the applicant, by analysing factual data of grants carried out by the applicant or of similar actions and by performing checks established by Annex K. The total amount of financing on the basis of simplified cost options that can be authorised by the Contracting Authority for any of the applicants individually (including simplified cost options proposed by their own affiliated entities) cannot exceed EUR 60 000 (the indirect costs are not taken into account).

14 Examples:- for staff costs: number of hours or days of work * hourly or daily rate pre-set according to the category

of personnel concerned;- for travel expenses: distance in km * pre-set cost of transport per km; number of days * daily allowance pre-set according to the country;- for specific costs arising from the organization of an event: number of participants at the event * pre-set total cost per participant etc.


Recommendations to award a grant are always subject to the condition that the checks preceding the signing of the contract do not reveal problems requiring changes to the budget (such as arithmetical errors, inaccuracies, unrealistic costs and ineligible costs). The checks may give rise to requests for clarification and may lead the Contracting Authority to impose modifications or reductions to address such mistakes or inaccuracies. It is not possible to increase the grant or the percentage of EU co-financing as a result of these corrections. It is therefore in the applicant’s interest to provide a realistic and cost-effective budget.

Eligible direct costs

To be eligible under the Call for Proposals, costs must comply with the provisions of Article 14 of the General Conditions to the Standard Grant Contract (see Annex G of the Guidelines).

Contingency reserve

A contingency reserve not exceeding 5% of the estimated direct eligible costs may be included in the Budget of the Action. It can only be used with the prior written authorisation of the Contracting Authority.

Eligible indirect costs

The indirect costs incurred in carrying out the action may be eligible for flat-rate funding fixed at not more than 7% of the estimated total eligible direct costs. Indirect costs are eligible provided that they do not include costs assigned to another heading of the budget of the standard grant contract. The applicant may be asked to justify the requested percentage before contracting. However, once the flat-rate has been fixed in the special conditions of the standard grant contract, no supporting documents need to be provided.

If any of the applicants or affiliated entity (ies) is in receipt of an operating grant financed from the EU, no indirect costs may be claimed within the proposed budget for the action.

Contributions in kind

Contributions in kind mean the provision of goods or services to a Beneficiary(ies) or affiliated entity(ies) free of charge by a third party. As contributions in kind do not involve any expenditure for a Beneficiary(ies) or affiliated entity(ies), they are not eligible costs.

Contributions in kind may not be treated as co-financing

However, if the description of the action as proposed includes contributions in kind, the contributions have to be made.

Ineligible costs

The following costs are not eligible:

– debts and debt service charges

– provisions for losses or potential future liabilities;

– interest owed;

– costs declared by the beneficiary and financed by another action or work programme receiving a Union (including EDF) grant;

– purchases of land or buildings, except where necessary for the direct implementation of the action, in which case ownership must be transferred to the final beneficiaries and/or local partners, at the latest by the end of the action;

– currency exchange losses;

– credit to third parties

– top-up salaries and sitting allowances for public officials

2.2 HOW TO APPLY AND THE PROCEDURES TO FOLLOW


Prior registration in PADOR for this Call for Proposals is obligatory. PADOR is an on-line database in which organisations register and update their data regularly, through the EuropeAid website: http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/work/onlineservices/pador/index_en.htm Before starting to register your organisation in PADOR, please read the ‘Quick guide’ on the website. It explains the registration process. It is strongly recommended to register in PADOR when you start drafting your proposal and not to wait until just before the deadline of submission. On the paper version of the proposal you must give your EuropeAid ID (EID). To get this ID, your organisation must enter PADOR to register, save and ‘sign’ certain obligatory data (the fields shown in orange on each screen) and the related documents (see section 2.4). However, if it is impossible for the organisation to register in PADOR, it must submit a justification proving that this impossibility is general and beyond the control of the applicants and/or its affiliated entity(ies). In

such cases, the applicants and/or affiliated entity(ies).concerned must complete the ‘PADOR off-line form15 attached to these Guidelines and send it by the submission deadline, together with the application, to the address indicated in sections 2.2.2 and 2.2.6. The registration in PADOR will then be carried out by the European Commission service in charge of the CfP. If, at a later stage, the organisation wishes to update its data itself, it will have to send an access request to the PADOR helpdesk. All questions related to registration in PADOR should be addressed to the PADOR helpdesk at: [email protected]. The Delegation of the European Union to Ghana is available to support the registration process if needed. Contact persons (please send a written request with all these persons in copy): [email protected] [email protected]

2.2.1 Application form

Applications must be submitted in accordance with the instructions on the Concept Note and the Full application form included in the Grant Application Form annexes to these Guidelines (Annex A)

Applicants must apply in English.

Any error or major discrepancy related to the points listed in the instructions on the Concept Note or any major inconsistency in the application form (e.g. the amounts mentioned in the budget worksheets are inconsistent) may lead to the rejection of the application.

Clarifications will only be requested when information provided is unclear, thus preventing the Contracting Authority from conducting an objective assessment.

Hand-written applications will not be accepted.

Please note that only the application form and the published annexes which have to be filled in (budget, logical framework) will be evaluated. It is therefore of utmost importance that these documents contain ALL relevant information concerning the action. No additional annexes should be sent.

2.2.2 Where and how to send the Applications

Applications must be submitted in one original and two (2) copies in A4 size, each bound.

15 Which corresponds to Sections 3 and 4 of Part B of the application form.


The complete application form includes the following documents: � Concept Note (part A of ANNEX A to the guidelines) � Full Application Form (part B of ANNEX A to the gui delines) � Budget (ANNEX B) � Logical framework (ANNEX C)

The complete application form (Part A: concept note and Part B: full application form), budget and logical framework must also be supplied in electronic format (CD-Rom) in a separate and unique file (e.g. the application form must not be split into several different files). The electronic format must contain exactly the same application as the paper version enclosed.

The Checklist (Section 6 of Part B the grant application form) and the Declaration by the applicant (Section 7 of Part B of the grant application form) must be stapled separately and enclosed in the envelope

Where an applicant sends several different applications (if allowed to do so by the Guidelines of the Call), each one has to be sent separately.

The outer envelope must bear the number (EuropeAid/133762/L/ACT/GH) and the title of the call for proposals, together with the full name and address of the applicant, and the words "Not to be opened before the opening session".

Applications must be submitted in a sealed envelope by registered mail, private courier service or by hand-delivery (a signed and dated certificate of receipt will be given to the deliverer) at the address below:

Hand delivery address Delegation of the European Union to Ghana, The Round House, 81 Cantonments Road Accra Postal delivery address Delegation of the European Union to Ghana The Round House, 81 Cantonments Road, P.O. Box 9505 KIA, Accra

Applications sent by any other means (e.g. by fax or by e-mail) or delivered to other addresses will be rejected.

Applicants must verify that their application is complete using the checklist (Section 6 of Part B of the grant application form). Incomplete applications may be rejected.

2.2.3 Deadline for submission of Applications

The deadline for the submission of applications is Thursday, 26th April 2013 as evidenced by the date of dispatch, the postmark or the date of the deposit slip. In the case of hand-deliveries, the deadline for receipt is at 15.00 hours local time (Ghana) as evidenced by the signed and dated receipt. Any application submitted after the deadline will automatically be rejected.

However, for reasons of administrative efficiency, the Contracting Authority may reject any application received after the effective date of approval of the first evaluation step (i.e. Concept Note) (see indicative calendar under Section 2.5.2)

2.2.4 Further information for the Application

An information session on this Call for Proposals may be organised (tentatively in March 2013) and the date and venue will be published on the EU Delegation website: (http://eeas.europa.eu/delegations/ghana/index_en.htm)

and the EuropeAid website: https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/europeaid/online-ervices/index.cfm?do=publi.welcome

Questions may be sent by e-mail or by fax no later than 21 days before the deadline for the submission of applications to the addresses listed below, indicating clearly the reference of the call for proposals:


E-mail address (please put all these persons in copy): [email protected] [email protected] Fax: (+233) 0302 774154

Contracting Authority has no obligation to provide further clarifications after this date.

Replies will be given no later than 11 days before the deadline for the submission of applications.

In the interest of equal treatment of applicants, the Contracting Authority cannot give a prior opinion on the eligibility of an applicant, a partner, an action or specific activities.

Questions that may be relevant to other applicants, together with the answers, will be published on the internet at the following addresses:

https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/europeaid/online-services/index.cfm?do=publi.welcome (EuropeAid website)

http://eeas.europa.eu/delegations/ghana/index_en.htm (EU Delegation website)

It is therefore highly recommended to regularly consult the abovementioned website in order to be informed of the questions and answers published. All questions related to registration in PADOR should be addressed to the PADOR helpdesk at: [email protected].

2.3 EVALUATION AND SELECTION OF APPLICATIONS

Applications will be examined and evaluated by the Contracting Authority with the possible assistance of external assessors. All actions submitted by applicants will be assessed according to the following steps and criteria.

If the examination of the application reveals that the proposed action does not meet the eligibility criteria stated in paragraph 2.1.3, the application shall be rejected on this sole basis.

(1) STEP 1: OPENING & ADMINISTRATIVE CHECKS AND CONCEPT NOTE EVALUATION

The following will be assessed:

• The submission deadline has been respected. If the deadline has not been respected the application will automatically be rejected

• The Application Form satisfies all the criteria specified in points 1-5 of the Checklist (Section 6 of Part B of the grant application form). If any of the requested information is missing or is incorrect, the application may be rejected on that sole basis and the application will not be evaluated further.

The evaluation of the Concept Notes that have passed the first administrative check will cover the relevance and design of the action.

The Concept Note will be given an overall score out of 50 points in accordance with the breakdown provided in the Evaluation Grid below. The evaluation shall also verify the compliance with instructions provided in the guidance for Concept Note.

The evaluation criteria are divided into headings and subheadings. Each subheading will be given a score between 1 and 5 in accordance with the following assessment categories: 1 = very poor; 2 = poor; 3 = adequate; 4 = good; 5 = very good.

1. Relevance of the action Sub-score 30

1.1 How relevant is the proposal to the objectives and priorities of the Call for Proposals? 5x2*


1.2 How relevant to the particular needs and constraints of the target country / region is the proposal? (including synergy with other EU initiatives and avoidance of duplication)

5x2*

1.3 How clearly defined and strategically chosen are those involved (final beneficiaries, target groups)? Have their needs been clearly defined and does the proposal address them appropriately?

5

1.4 Does the proposal contain specific added-value elements, such as environmental issues, promotion of gender equality and equal opportunities, needs of disabled people, rights of minorities and rights of indigenous peoples, or innovation and best practices?

5

2. Design of the action Sub-score 20

2.1 How coherent is the overall design of the action?

In particular, does it reflect the analysis of the problems involved, take into account external factors and relevant stakeholders?

5x2*

2.2 Is the action feasible and consistent in relation to the objectives and expected results? 5x2*

TOTAL SCORE 50

* the scores are multiplied by 2 because of their importance Once all Concept Notes have been assessed, a list will be established with the proposed actions ranked according to their total score.

First, only the Concept Notes which have been given a score of a minimum of 30 points will be considered for pre-selection.

Secondly, the number of Concept Notes will be reduced, taking account of the ranking, to the number of Concept Notes whose total aggregate amount of requested contributions is equal to 200% of the available budget for this Call for Proposals. The amount of requested contributions of each concept note will be based on the indicative financial envelopes for each lot. After the evaluation of Concept Notes, the Contracting Authority will send letters to all applicants, indicating whether their application was submitted by the deadline, informing them of the reference number they have been allocated, whether the Concept Note was evaluated and the results of that evaluation. The Evaluation Committee will then proceed with the applicants whose proposals have been pre-selected.

(2) STEP 2: EVALUATION OF THE FULL APPLICATION

First, the following will be assessed:

• The full application form satisfies all the criteria specified in points 1-8 of the Checklist (Section 6 of Part B of the grant application form). If any of the requested information is missing or is incorrect, the application may be rejected on that sole basis and the application will not be evaluated further.

The quality of the applications, including the proposed budget and capacity of the applicants and affiliated entity(ies),, will be evaluated using the evaluation criteria in the evaluation grid below. There are two types of evaluation criteria: selection and award criteria.

The selection criteria help to evaluate the applicant(s)'s and the co-applicant(s) 's operational capacity and the applicant's financial capacity and to ensure that they:

• have stable and sufficient sources of finance to maintain their activity throughout the proposed action and, where appropriate, to participate in its funding;


• have the management capacity, professional competencies and qualifications required to successfully complete the proposed action. This also applies to any affiliated entity(ies) of the applicants.

The award criteria allow the quality of the applications in relation to the objectives and priorities, and grants to be awarded to actions which maximise the overall effectiveness of the Call for Proposals. They enable the selection of applications which the Contracting Authority can be confident will comply with its objectives and priorities. They cover the relevance of the action, its consistency with the objectives of the Call for Proposals, quality, expected impact, sustainability and cost-effectiveness.

Scoring:

The evaluation criteria are divided into sections and subsections. Each subsection will be given a score between 1 and 5 in accordance with the following guidelines: 1 = very poor; 2 = poor; 3 = adequate; 4 = good; 5 = very good.

EVALUATION GRID FOR THE FULL APPLICATION FORM Maximum Score

1. Financial and operational capacity Yes/No

1.1 Do the applicant and, if applicable, affiliated entity(ies) have sufficient experience of project management?

1.2 Do the applicant and, if applicable affiliated entity(ies) have sufficient technical expertise? (Notably knowledge of the issues to be addressed)

1.3 Do the applicant and, if applicable, affiliated entity(ies) have sufficient management capacity? (Including staff, equipment and ability to handle the budget for the action)?

1.4 Does the applicant have stable and sufficient sources of finance?

2. Relevance 30

Score transferred from the Concept Note evaluation

3. Effectiveness and feasibility of the action 20

5 3.1 Are the activities proposed appropriate, practical, and consistent with the objectives and expected results?

3.2 Is the action plan clear and feasible? 5

3.3 Does the proposal contain objectively verifiable indicators16 for the outcome of the action? Is evaluation foreseen?

5

3.4 Is the co-applicant and affiliated entity(ies) ' level of involvement and participation in the action satisfactory?

5

4. Sustainability 15

4.1 Is the action likely to have a tangible impact on its target groups? 5

4.2 Is the proposal likely to have multiplier effects (Including scope for replication and extension of the outcome of the action and dissemination of information)?

5

4.3 Are the expected results of the proposed action sustainable:

- financially (how will the activities be financed after the funding ends?)

- institutionally (will structures allowing the activities to continue be in place at the end of the action? Will there be local “ownership” of the results of the action?)

- at policy level (where applicable) (what will be the structural impact of the action - e.g. will it lead to improved legislation, codes of conduct, methods, etc?)?

5

16 For information on Logical Framework, please consul the manual of Project Cycle Management / Project Approach

Guidelines available at the following address: http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/infopoint/publications/europeaid/49a_en.htm


5. Budget and cost-effectiveness of the action 15

5.1 Are the activities appropriately reflected in the budget? 5 x 2*

5.2 Is the ratio between the estimated costs and the expected results satisfactory? 5

Maximum total score 80

*the scores are multiplied by 2 because of their importance

Note on Section 1. Financial and operational capacity If the answer is negative to one or more of the criteria, the application will be rejected.

Provisional selection After the evaluation, a table will be drawn up listing the applications ranked according to their score and within the limits of the funds available. In addition, a reserve list will be drawn up following the same criteria to be used if more funds should become available during the validity period of the reserve list.

(3) STEP 3: VERIFICATION OF ELIGIBILITY OF THE APP LICANT AND AFFILIATED ENTITY (IES)

The eligibility verification, based on the supporting documents requested by the Contracting Authority (see Section 2.4) will only be performed for the applications that have been provisionally selected according to their score and within the available financial envelope.

• The Declaration by the applicant (Section 7 of Part B the grant application form – Annex A of the Guidelines) will be cross-checked with the supporting documents provided by the applicant. Any missing supporting document or any incoherence between the Declaration by the applicant and the supporting documents may lead to the rejection of the application on that sole basis.

• The eligibility of the applicant, the affiliated entities, and the action will be verified according to the criteria set out in Sections 2.1.1, 2.1.2 and 2.1.3.

Any rejected application will be replaced by the next best placed application in the reserve list that falls within the available financial envelope.

2.4 SUBMISSION OF SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS FOR PROVISIONALLY SELECTED APPLICATIONS

An applicant that has been provisionally selected or placed on the reserve list will be informed in writing by the Contracting Authority. It will be requested to supply the following documents in order to allow the Contracting Authority to verify the eligibility of the applicants and their affiliated entity(ies):

Supporting documents may/must be provided through PADOR, see Section 2.2

1. The statutes or articles of association of the applicant organisation17 and of each affiliated entity (ies). Where the Contracting Authority has recognized the applicant’s eligibility for another call for proposals under the same budget line within 2 years before the deadline for receipt of applications, the applicant may submit, instead of its statutes, copy of the document proving the eligibility of the applicant in a former Call (e.g.: copy of the special conditions of a grant contract received during the reference period),

unless a change in its legal status has occurred in the meantime.18 This obligation does not apply to international organisations (partners) which have signed a framework agreement with the European Commission. A list of the relevant framework agreements is available at the following address: http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/work/procedures/financing/international_organisations/other_international_organisations/index_en.htm

17 Where the applicant and/or (a) partner(s) is a public body created by a law, a copy of the said law must be provided

18 To be inserted only where the eligibility conditions have not changed from one call for proposals to the other.


2. Copy of the applicant’s latest accounts (the profit and loss account and the balance sheet for the previous

financial year for which the accounts have been closed)19.

3. Legal entity sheet (see annex D of these Guidelines) duly completed and signed by the applicant, accompanied by the justifying documents which are requested therein.

4. A financial identification form conforming to the model attached at Annex E of these Guidelines, certified by the bank to which the payments will be made. This bank should be located in the country where the applicant is established. If the applicant has already submitted a financial identification form in the past for a contract where the European Commission was in charge of the payments and intends to use the same bank account, a copy of the previous financial identification form may be provided instead.

Where the requested supporting documents are not uploaded in PADOR they must be supplied in the form of originals, photocopies or scanned versions (i.e. showing legible stamps, signatures and dates) of the said originals. However, the Legal entity sheet and the financial identification form must always be submitted in original.

Where such documents are not in one of the official languages of the European Union or in the language of the country where the action is implemented, a translation into the language of the call for proposals of the relevant parts of these documents, proving the applicant’s eligibility, must be attached and will prevail for the purpose of analysing the application.

Where these documents are in an official language of the European Union other than the language of the call for proposals, it is strongly recommended, in order to facilitate the evaluation, to provide a translation of the relevant parts of the documents, proving the applicant’s eligibility, into the language of the call for proposals.

If the abovementioned supporting documents are not provided before the deadline indicated in the request for supporting documents sent to the applicant by the Contracting Authority, the application may be rejected.

Based on the verification of the supporting documents by the Evaluation Committee it will make a final recommendation to the Contracting Authority which will decide on the award of grants.

2.5 NOTIFICATION OF THE CONTRACTING AUTHORITY ’S DECISION

2.5.1 Content of the decision

Applicants will be informed in writing of the Contracting Authority’s decision concerning their application and, in case of rejections, the reasons for the negative decision.

Applicants believing that they have been harmed by an error or irregularity during the award process may file a complaint. See further Section 2.4.15 of the Practical Guide.

2.5.2 Indicative time table

DATE TIME

(Ghana local time)

Information meeting March 2013 To be confirmed

Deadline for request for any clarifications from the Contracting Authority

5 April 2013 4:00 pm

Last date on which clarifications are issued by the Contracting Authority

15 April 2013 4:00 pm

Deadline for submission of Full Application Form 26 April 2013 At 15:00

19 This obligation does not apply to public bodies nor to international organisations. It does not apply either when the accounts are in practice the same documents as the external audit report already provided pursuant to Section 2.4.2.


Information to applicants on the opening & administrative check and concept note evaluation (Step 1)

12 June 2013* -

Information to applicants on the evaluation of the Full Application Form (Step 2)

15 July 2013* -

Notification of award (after the eligibility check) (Step 3)

30 July 2013* -

Contract signature 2d September 2013* -

*Provisional date. All times are in the time zone of the country of the Contracting Authority

This indicative timetable may be updated by the Contracting Authority during the procedure. In such case, the updated timetable shall be published on the DEVCO website https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/europeaid/online-services/index.cfm?do=publi.welcome and the EU Delegation website:

http://eeas.europa.eu/delegations/ghana/index_en.htm

2.6 CONDITIONS APPLICABLE TO IMPLEMENTATION OF THE ACTION FOLLOWING THE CONTRACTING AUTHORITY 'S DECISION TO AWARD A GRANT

Following the decision to award a grant, the Beneficiary will be offered a contract based on the Contracting Authority’s standard grant contract (see Annex G of these Guidelines). By signing the application form (Annex A of these Guidelines), the applicant agrees, if awarded a grant, to accept the contractual conditions of the standard grant contract.

Implementation contracts Where implementation of the action requires the Beneficiary(ies) and its affiliated entity(ies) (if any) to award procurement contracts, it must award the contract to the tenderer offering the best value for money, that is to say, the best price-quality ratio, in compliance with the principles of transparency and equal treatment for potential contractors, care being taken to avoid any conflict of interests. To this end, the Beneficiary must follow the procedures set out in Annex IV to the standard grant contract.

2.7 EARLY WARNING SYSTEM AND CENTRAL EXCLUSION DATABASE

The applicants and, if they are legal entities, persons who have powers of representation, decision-making or control over them, are informed that, should they be in one of the situations mentioned in:

- the Commission Decision of 16.12.2008 on the Early Warning System (EWS) for the use of authorising officers of the Commission and the executive agencies (OJ, L 344, 20.12.2008, p.125) or

-the Commission Regulation of 17.12.2008 on the Central Exclusion Database (CED) (OJ L344, 20.12.2008, p.12)

their personal details (name, given name if natural person, address, legal form and name and given name of the persons with powers of representation, decision-making or control, if legal person) may be registered in the EWS only or both in the EWS and CED, and communicated to the persons and entities listed in the above-mentioned Decision and Regulation, in relation to the award or the execution of a grant agreement or decision.


3. LIST OF ANNEXES

DOCUMENTS TO BE COMPLETED

ANNEX A: GRANT APPLICATION FORM (WORD FORMAT)

ANNEX B: BUDGET (EXCEL FORMAT)

ANNEX C: LOGICAL FRAMEWORK (EXCEL FORMAT)

ANNEX D: LEGAL ENTITY SHEET

ANNEX E: FINANCIAL IDENTIFICATION FORM

DOCUMENTS FOR INFORMATION Annex F: Standard Grant Contract

- Annex II: General conditions applicable to European Union-financed grant contracts for external actions

- Annex IV: contract award procedures - Annex V: standard request for payment - Annex VI: model narrative and financial report -Annex VII: model report of factual findings and terms of reference for an expenditure verification of

an EU financed grant contract for external action] ANNEX G: Structure of Government in Ghana

Annex H: Daily allowance rates (Per diem), available at the following address:

http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/work/procedures/implementation/index_en.htm ANNEX J: Information on the tax regime applicable to grant contracts signed under the call. Annex K: Guidelines and Checklist for assessing Budget and Simplified cost options. Project Cycle Management Guidelines http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/multimedia/publications/publications/manuals-tools/t101_en.htm

Documents

Contracting Authority Local Authorities Actions in partner country ...eeas.europa.eu/.../documents/funding_opportunities/133762_laid_en.… · country-specific funding envelope of